Pedra do Indaiá

Pedra do Indaiá is a Brazilian municipality located in the center of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 3,921 people living in a total area of 349 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Oeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Formiga. It became a municipality in 1962.

The origin lies in the legend of an image of Jesus left near a stone (pedra) and later ""discovered"". A chapel was built in stone and soon people began to build their houses nearby. The settlement grew and was first called Senhor Bom Jesus da Pedra do Indaiá. In 1923 it became Pedra do Indaiá. In 1962 it separated from Itapecerica and became a municipality.

The city center of Pedra do Indaiá is located at an elevation of 693 meters approximately halfway between Formiga and Divinópolis. It is just north of state highway MG-050, which connects Belo Horizonte to Passos. Neighboring municipalities are: Santo Antônio do Monte (N), São Sebastião do Oeste (E), Itapecerica (S), and Formiga (W).

Distances to other cities

Services, small industry, and agriculture are the most important economic activities. In 2005 there were 9 extractive industries (quarries) and 13 transformation industries. Transformation industries employed 340 workers. The GDP in 2005 was approximately R$29 million, 3 million reais from taxes, 11 million reais from services, 9 million reais from industry, and 5 million reais from agriculture. There were 463 rural producers on 19,000 hectares of land (2006). 33 farms had tractors (2006). Approximately 1,100 persons were involved in agriculture. The main crops are rice, beans, and corn. There were 11,000 head of cattle (2006).

There were no banks (2007). The motor vehicle fleet had 482 automobiles, 51 trucks, 45 pickup trucks, and 223 motorcycles (2007).

In the health sector there were 6 public health clinics, one of which was specialized. Patients with more serious health conditions are transported to Formiga or Divinópolis. Educational needs of 750 students were met by 4 primary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 pre-primary school.

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